Kisan Portal

PM’s desire to ameliorate the lot of the common man is undoubted; what ails is its implementation across the board

In an out-of-the-box solution to empower the farmers, a Kisan Portal has been launched. Prime Minister Imran Khan believes that the poor peasants, who constitute 90% of the farming community, should have access to the corridors of power. How effectively this medium will work in realising a solution to their daily crisscross with the administration, landlords and the market mafia is anybody’s guess. But the thought of introducing a digital platform to vent their grievances is appreciated. The onus is now on the authorities concerned to make it a success by promptly responding to the complaints, and at the same time ensuring that the portal’s awareness and its proper usage is made common among farmers.

The PM’s desire to ameliorate the lot of the common man is undoubted. But what ails is its implementation across the board. As far as agriculture is concerned, Pakistan has to work in leaps and bounds to increase the yield, and ordain a lawful and secure share of produce and profit to the farmer. This is how success was achieved in Latin America, Southeast Asia, China and even India. It is ironic that Pakistan is still an importer of farm produce. The State should be the guarantor of production and its dissemination to the market by ensuring a decent price for cultivation.

Pakistan is in drastic need of land reforms. More than 80% of farmers are with small landholdings, and they inevitably fall in the trap of feudal class who fleece them of their produce. To further compound their miseries is their lack of access to markets and mills. At the same time, the serfs are taken as a social outcast and exploited miserably. The Kisan Portal may be a window of opportunity, but again the argument is how many millions of farmers have access to smartphones, its proper understanding and internet? In a society where walking up to a police station becomes a misery for the destitute, airing of their voice to the men at the helm remains an uphill task. Yet, the initiative has power connotations, and deserves sincerity to make it a success.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2021.

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